Koza

Ivan Ostrochovský

Year

2015

Runtime

75 min

Language

Slovak, Czech, English, German

Country

Czech Republic, Slovakia

Principal Cast

Peter Baláž, Zvonko Lakcevic, Ján Franek, Stanislava Bongilajová

Ivan Ostrochovský's first narrative feature
was a standout at the Berlinale Forum,
surprising the audience with its raw
truthfulness and beauty. A subtle balance
of documentary and fiction, Koza casts
young Roma boxer Peter "Koza" Baláz as
"himself," mixing details of Baláz's real life
with invented situations to funny, touching,
and sometimes revelatory effect.

Koza (Slovak for "goat"), an ex-flyweight
Olympic boxer who now ekes out a bare living
in a rundown public-housing project,
finds himself cornered when his girlfriend
Misa (Stanislava Bongilajová) announces
that she is pregnant and needs money for an
abortion. In the absence of any alternative
sources of income, he decides to get back
in the ring once again. Travelling with his
boss Zvonko (Zvonko Lakcevic), who has
now assumed the role of his manager, Koza
embarks on a tragicomic tour through the
frozen landscape of northeastern Europe,
dragging himself from fight to pathetic
fight. It's been years since Koza has had any
training, he's not nearly as strong or agile as
he once was, and the public is not exactly
clamouring to see him in action again, but
with his dogged persistence, the chance for
success is but a few knockouts away.

Under Ostrochovský's measured yet
sympathetic direction, Koza takes on the
dimensions of a larger-than-life figure even
as he remains humbly, often amusingly
relatable. We can only sympathize with this
dubious hero and wish him all the best for
the match of his life — which, one hopes, is
still to come.